How to build your own website with Claude: a step-by-step DIY guide

You can build a fast, professional business website yourself with Claude, a GitHub account and a modern host like Netlify, Vercel or AWS Amplify. The workflow is: plan the site with Claude, have it write the code, store the code on GitHub, connect GitHub to a host, then secure and maintain it. This guide walks through each step, links to deeper guides on every piece, and is honest about where DIY stops being the right call.

What you need before you start

You do not need a computer science degree. You do need a few accounts and a bit of patience.

Prices change, so we do not quote them here. Check each provider's current pricing, then plug your numbers into our website cost calculator.

Step 1: plan the site with Claude before writing any code

The most common DIY mistake is asking for "a website" and accepting whatever comes back. Start with a plan.

Ask Claude to interview you. A good opening prompt:

I run a [type of business] in [city]. Interview me one question at a time to plan a 5 to 8 page website: who it is for, what action visitors should take, the pages, and what each page must say. Then summarize the plan as a sitemap and page-by-page outline.

Keep that outline. It becomes the brief you hand to every later step. Decide early:

• Pages: home, services (one page per main service is better for search than one long page), about, contact, and any location pages.
• The one action: call, book, request a quote or buy. Every page should point at it.
• Content: write or approve the real copy now. Placeholder text tends to ship.
• Platform: if you will publish often, sell products or need non-technical editors, a coded site may be the wrong tool. Our guide to choosing a website platform covers when WordPress, Webflow or Shopify fits better.

Step 2: build it with Claude Code

For a real site, we recommend Claude Code over copying code out of a chat window. Claude Code works inside a project folder: it creates files, installs packages, runs the site locally so you can see it, fixes errors and commits changes to Git. It runs in a terminal, in VS Code and JetBrains, in the Claude desktop app and in the browser.

A sensible starting stack for a marketing site is a static or mostly static build: Vite with React, Astro, or Next.js with static export. Static sites are fast, cheap to host and have a small attack surface. Ask Claude to explain the trade-offs for your plan and pick one.

Then work in small, reviewable steps:

1. Ask Claude to scaffold the project and add a CLAUDE.md file describing your brand, voice, colors, fonts and rules (for example "every page needs a unique title and meta description").
2. Build one page at a time. Review it in the browser on desktop and phone before moving on.
3. Ask for the basics that AI builds often skip: page titles and descriptions, Open Graph tags, a sitemap and robots.txt, alt text, a 404 page, and accessible forms. Our accessibility guide lists what matters.
4. Check speed. Static output usually scores well on Core Web Vitals, but large images and heavy scripts undo that quickly.

Prefer to see a quick draft first? The Claude app can mock up a page in the conversation so you can react to layout and copy before building the real thing.

Step 3: put the code on GitHub

GitHub stores your code and every change ever made to it. It is the backbone of the whole workflow: hosts deploy from it, you can roll back any mistake, and a developer can step in later without starting over. If Git is new to you, read our plain-English introduction to GitHub for website owners. Claude Code can create the repository, write the commit messages and push for you.

Step 4: choose a host and go live

Modern hosts connect to your GitHub repository and rebuild the site every time you push a change. Netlify, Vercel and AWS Amplify all work this way, each with free or low-cost entry plans, automatic SSL and preview links for every change. One point of confusion worth clearing up: Vite is a build tool, not a host. We compare all four in Vite, Netlify, Vercel and AWS Amplify: hosting a DIY website, and our earlier Netlify vs Vercel post goes deeper on those two.

To go live you will point your domain's DNS at the host. Keep your existing email (MX) records untouched when you do, or your email stops working. Our guide to domains, DNS, SSL and email authentication explains each record.

Step 5: add a database and logins only if you need them

Most marketing sites do not need a database. A contact form can go to your host's form handling or an email service. If you need user accounts, saved data or a members area, Supabase is a popular choice that pairs well with AI-built front ends. Read what Supabase is and how authentication works before you turn it on, because a misconfigured database is the most serious security risk in DIY builds.

Step 6: secure it

AI writes working code quickly. It does not always write safe code by default, and it will do exactly what you ask even when that is a bad idea. The essentials:

• Turn on two-factor authentication for GitHub, your host, your domain registrar, Supabase and your email.
• Never paste secret keys into code that runs in the browser or into a public repository.
• Add security headers and keep dependencies updated.
• If you use a database, turn on row level security for every table.

The full list is in how to secure a website you built with AI, alongside our general small business website security checklist.

Step 7: selling online? Use a platform

If the business depends on taking payments for products, do not hand-build a store. Payment security, tax, shipping, inventory and order emails are solved problems on Shopify, BigCommerce, Squarespace and WooCommerce. A coded site can still be your front door and link to or embed the store. We explain why in DIY ecommerce: why you should probably use a platform.

What it really costs

DIY cash costs are often modest. Your time is not. Planning, building, debugging, learning Git and DNS, and maintaining the site afterward adds up, and the clock does not stop at launch. Our website cost calculator lets you add every recurring cost plus your own hours to see the first-year and three-year picture. For context on hired builds, see how much a business website costs.

When DIY stops making sense

DIY with Claude works well for a brochure site, a landing page, a portfolio or a side project. It gets risky when:

• The site handles payments, health or financial data, or user accounts.
• It needs integrations with a CRM, booking system or ERP.
• It already ranks and brings in leads (a careless rebuild can lose that; see redesigning without losing SEO).
• Nobody will own updates, backups and monitoring after launch.

For sites already built in AI tools, our sister company AftUp runs monthly care plans covering uptime, fixes, SEO and analytics.

The short version

Plan with Claude, build with Claude Code, store the code on GitHub, deploy to Netlify, Vercel or Amplify, add Supabase only if you need data or logins, and lock down every account with two-factor. Keep ecommerce on a real platform. If you would rather skip the learning curve, tell us about your project and we will quote it.